1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to ophthalmic lenses, and more particularly to cosmetic contact lenses incorporating one or more effect layers and/or one or more pigmented printed layers to enhance the appearance of the eyes upon which the contact lenses are positioned. The cosmetic contact lenses also comprising an annular shaped clear layer to encapsulate the one or more effect and/or pigmented printed layers to provide safe, comfortable, and high optical quality contact lenses.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Contact lenses or contacts are simply lenses placed on the eye. Contact lenses are considered medical devices and may be worn to correct vision and/or for cosmetic or other therapeutic reasons. Contact lenses have been utilized commercially to improve vision since the 1950s. Early contact lenses made or fabricated from hard materials were relatively expensive and fragile. In addition, these early contact lenses were fabricated from materials that did not allow sufficient oxygen transmission through the contact lens to the conjunctiva and cornea which potentially could cause a number of adverse clinical effects. Although these contact lenses are still utilized, they are not suitable for all patients due to their poor initial comfort. Later developments in the field gave rise to soft contact lenses, based upon hydrogels, which are extremely popular and widely utilized today. Silicone hydrogel contact lenses that are available today combine the benefit of silicone, which has extremely high oxygen permeability, with the proven comfort and clinical performance of hydrogels. Essentially, these silicone hydrogel based contact lenses have higher oxygen permeability values and are generally more comfortable to wear than the contact lenses made of the earlier hard materials. Rigid gas permeable hard contact lenses, on the other hand, are made from siloxane-containing polymers but are more rigid than soft contact lenses and thus hold their shape and are more durable.
Currently available contact lenses remain a cost effective means for vision correction. The thin plastic lenses fit over the cornea of the eye to correct vision defects, including myopia or nearsightedness, hyperopia or farsightedness, astigmatism, i.e. asphericity in the cornea, and presbyopia i.e. the loss of the ability of the crystalline lens to accommodate. Contact lenses are available in a variety of forms and are made of a variety of materials to provide different functionality. Daily wear soft contact lenses are typically made from soft polymer materials combined with water for oxygen permeability. Daily wear soft contact lenses may be daily disposable or extended wear disposable. Daily disposable contact lenses are usually worn for a single day and then thrown away, while extended wear disposable contact lenses are usually worn for a period of up to thirty days. Colored soft contact lenses use different materials to provide different functionality. For example, a visibility tint contact lens uses a light tint to aid the wearer in locating a dropped contact lens, enhancement tint contact lenses have a transparent or translucent tint that is meant to enhance one's natural eye color, the color tint contact lens comprises an opaque tint meant to change one's eye color, and the light filtering tint contact lens functions to enhance certain colors while muting others. Bifocal and multifocal contact lenses are designed specifically for patients with presbyopia and are available in both soft and rigid varieties. Toric contact lenses are designed specifically for patients with astigmatism and are also available in both soft and rigid varieties. Combination lenses combining different aspects of the above are also available, for example, hybrid contact lenses.
Cosmetic contact lenses may comprise patterns composed of one or more elements that completely, or more preferably, partially overlie the wearer's iris. These lenses may also comprise a limbal ring. A limbal ring is essentially an annular band of color that when the lens is on the eye and centered, partially or completely overlies the lens wearer's limbal region which is the junction of the sclera and the cornea. The inclusion of a limbal ring may make the iris appear larger, darker and/or more defined. The combination of the limbal ring and an iris pattern makes the appearance of the lens on eye more natural. In other words, an iris pattern allows the limbal ring to blend in naturally with the wearer's eyes.
Other cosmetic contact lenses focus on the sclera rather than or in addition to the iris. For example, a contact lens may comprise a brightly colored peripheral portion, i.e. outside of the iris region, that may be opaque, semi-opaque and/or translucent. The bright portion may extend from the edge of the limbus to the edge of the contact lens creating the impression of a brighter or whiter sclera. These contact lenses may also include a limbal ring which as stated above, may make the iris appear larger, darker and/or more defined than it would otherwise.
In all of the above-described contact lenses, a clear coat is utilized to fully encapsulate the various designs/patterns; namely, the one or more effect and/or pigmented printed layers within the contact lens. Currently, this clear coat covers the entire front curve surface of the contact lens. In order to maintain the precision optical surface and pathway, there exists a need in the cosmetic contact lens area for lenses with uncompromised optical quality while maintaining the functionality associated with full pigment encapsulation.